


Band Candy

by EarthToQuinne



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, Extremely Useful Lesbians, Fluff, Gay Antics, High School, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Marching Band, Prom, Trans Man Character, Transgender, Useless Gays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-01-24 16:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18574834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarthToQuinne/pseuds/EarthToQuinne
Summary: Gerard is a socially awkward, hyper-feminine band nerd who is hopelessly in love with bad boy, Frank Iero. With the help of two meddling lesbians, Gerard devises a plan to learn how to talk to boys long enough to ask Frank to the prom. And well, things don't turn out exactly the way he expects.





	1. Chapter 1

At the age of eighteen, there are a few things that Gerard Way is absolutely, positively certain of. Firstly, girls who are always willing to loan out their elastic hair ties are a blessing. Secondly, talking to boys is more difficult than rocket science. And lastly, Frank Iero is the most gorgeous boy he has ever seen in his very short, very gay existence. 

He pulls his hair back into a high ponytail, reed dangling from his lips and as he tries very hard to make his staring not seem obvious. 

“What color underwear is Frank Iero wearing today, Gerard?” Jenna asks under her breath as she puts her flute together. 

Against his will, Gerard finds himself blushing. “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Even though he very much does. Frank has a penchant for tight, low cut-jeans and even smaller shirts and Gerard can’t help the way that his eyes always gravitate directly to the area on Frank that shows the most skin. It’s just human nature really. At least that’s what he tells himself...

Jenna just gives him a knowing look from behind her curtain of purple hair. “They’re lime green today,” Gerard says finally, defeated. He knows she wants to keep teasing him but the director has started rehearsal up at the podium, saving him from any more mortification. Jenna has been his best friend since the first grade and has seen all of Gerard’s meltdowns and 3 AM rants. But most of all, she’s seen all of his crushes.

It’s no secret that Gerard had a fairly tragic taste in men. Like, the kind of guys who think blowing smoke in your face is sexy and that not showering makes you cool. He’s attracted to the guys that are always skipping class to go shoplift from the gas station downtown or get high in the parking lot. Guys that don’t give a shit about anything. Unfortunately, Gerard always happens to fall into the “anything” category... Jenna has been Gerard’s shoulder to cry on many times, as he’s been hers. So she knows all too well that her best friend has a type.

And when Frank Iero was put into their band class a week into the semester, wearing all black in the middle of August, smelling like an ashtray, and radiating nothing but “fuck this, fuck you, fuck everything” vibes, they both knew Gerard was a goner. It’s clear that he’s attracted to the types of guys he wished he could be. But the truth is, Gerard cares far too much. He is never late to anything, he gets good grades, he follows the rules. He works hard at everything thrown at him and spends most of his free time playing music or reading comic books. 

However, there’s just something so attractive about someone who has no inhibitions, though it’s obvious those were the kind of people who had nothing left to lose. Frank is the kind of guy who falls firmly into this category and it’s obvious even on the first day. He has never played an instrument other than the guitar in his life and doesn’t really care about band class all that much. But he really needs the fine arts credit to graduate as well as something to hit that wouldn’t result in another broken hand or in-school-suspension. 

Frank walked into class the first day with smudged black lines under his eyes and a cocky smirk. He made some joke about playing back-up cowbell that Gerard laughed way too loudly at as the director begrudgingly penciled his name onto the roster. Suffice to say, he fell in love instantly, much to the horror of his best friend. But Jenna knew Gerard and it was clear that he wasn’t going to stop drooling over this guy until he got it out of his system. 

“So, Way, are you going to finally stop being a pussy and ask him out or what?” she whispers as the director goes over the piece they’re working on with another section. 

Gerard rolls his eyes. “Jenna, c’mon. A guy like that would never be into someone like me…” 

“Really? Have you asked him?” 

“Well… no, but-!” 

She just gives him one of her looks and he sighs. “What have you got to lose? Prom is in like a month and you still don’t have a date.”

Gerard glares at her. “Whatever, that’s not-“

“Ms. Martinez and Mr. Way? I hope that you’re chatting about the next section of your piece.”

“Oh no sir, we were just talking about cute boys,” Jenna announces boldly.

Mr. Evans can’t help but chuckle as the rest of the class bursts into laughter. “Well, unless that cute boy is Sousa, I’m sorry to say that I can’t allow the conversation to continue. Now, back to measure 16-“ 

Jenna just quirks an eyebrow up at Gerard who had turned bright red, silently saying, “This conversation is so not over.”

After class, Gerard takes his time putting his things away because Jenna is his ride home and she likes to stay after class and flirt with Sophie from the brass section, who she’s been dating for over six months. He’s busy taking apart his clarinet, reed still dangling from his mouth out of habit when he feels someone’s eyes on him. He ignores the feeling as a long strand of hair falls into his face, hyper-focused on his task. When he looks up finally, he sees that Frank Iero is staring at him.

He blushes furiously and looks down quickly at his hands, nearly snapping off the bridge keys on his instrument as he abruptly yanks the two pieces apart. 

“Shit,” he mutters. This thing costs more than his mom’s car and if he broke it he’d have to empty his new guitar fund just to repair it. _“Goddammit, Frank,”_ he thinks. Whatever, this didn’t mean anything. People stared at Gerard all the time. It was a part of the whole “ambiguous gender” thing he’d begrudgingly learned to accept. He was a boy, even though his voice was a little high, his features far too soft for his liking, and the sex marker on his birth certificate was completely wrong. 

He’s been on hormones for a couple of months since he’d turned eighteen, but he just seems to attract curious onlookers. It is very rare that a guy ever looks at him like someone he’d like to date, rather than someone he’d like to make a spectacle out of. Gerard catches bits and pieces of the conversation and his cheeks start to burn. He glances over at Jenna, who’s still ogling over her girlfriend, oblivious to his pain. 

When Gerard finishes packing up his clarinet, he starts towards the storage cart near the practice room, directly in front of where Frank and his friends are sitting on stools, playing with their guitars idly and talking shit. He says nothing as he quietly skirts around them, hoping not to be noticed, when one of them, Frank, speaks up.

“Hey, Gerard! I just wanted to tell you that you kicked ass at your solo today.”

Gerard nervously tucks a rebellious strand of hair behind his ear and he fights the urge to not spontaneously combust. The only thing he can think is “He knows my name!” on an endless loop. 

Gerard feels himself turning even redder somehow… “T-Thankyou!” he manages to spit out before he stumbles into the storage room and falls flat on his face, though thankfully he’s out of sight by then. He’s still red and shaking by the time he’s heading out with Jenna to her car. She teases him the entire car trip home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a cute little thing I have some plans for! It's not finished yet, but I think it's going to be about 5 or 6 chapters altogether... We'll see!


	2. Chapter 2

Prom season is in full swing and Gerard is over it. Everywhere he looks he’s being barraged with campaign posters for prom king and queen, and stupid, over the top prom-posals. The whole tradition of it all is outdated, cliché, and shallow. Just another excuse for the already wealthy kids at his school to show off their money by flaunting their sparkly dresses and fancy cars. 

Also, Gerard may or may not be a little bitter that Jenna got a girlfriend a few months before prom and ruined their plans to sit home alone and watch super gory movies, order pizza, and laugh at how much more fun they were having than the kids dressed up in uncomfortable clothes, awkwardly grinding on the dance floor, tipsy off of spiked punch. So now he’s either going to have to choose between going to his senior prom alone or spend the night sitting in his basement, watching movies he’s already seen while his best friend makes memories without him.

As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Gerard kind of really wants to go. He’s never actually been asked to a dance before. (And he doesn’t count all of the times he’s been asked as a joke, either…) Sure, he was against everything that the prom stood for, as it was basically just a glorified popularity contest, where everyone tries way too hard to impress the people they were going to graduate with and then never talk to again. But at the end of the day, Gerard just wanted to feel special. He wanted to dress up in a nice suit and slow dance with a guy who bought him flowers and took corny pictures with him in front of his house while their moms cried and snapped bad pictures. 

For one night he just wants to feel like a normal guy. But he knew that even that was too much to ask for… Normalcy is not something the universe had afforded Gerard in any way, shape, or form. He had spent most of his life fighting to have even just the smallest taste of it, but eventually just gave up. It’s all he can think about all day as he walks down the hallway seeing happy couples drooling all over each other, the bulletins and announcements plastered with ads for different prom-related services. 

The only light to his day is that Gerard is wearing his Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt today because he knows for a fact that Frank loves the Smashing Pumpkins and is almost guaranteed to get his attention. His first tattoo that he proudly showed off the day after he got it was lyrics from “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” It was a beautiful blue butterfly with a bullet for a body and holes in its wings surrounded by lilting text that read, “I cannot be saved” inked on his left bicep. When he wore t-shirts Gerard can’t help but stare at the image that peeks out beneath the fabric. 

Of course, he’s not going to go up and start a conversation himself. He’s going to simply hope that Frank not only notices but is also willing to make the first move. It’s all he can think about as he goes through class. He’s so distracted he even messes up on his solo a few times, letting some very embarrassing squeaks echo through the rooms as the bitches in the trumpet section giggle at him. As if they have any right to mock him, after coming in three beats late nearly every measure because they’re too busy Snapchatting during rehearsal… 

All he can think about is Frank Iero and his adorable, crooked smile and his stupid tight jeans and Jenna keeps waggling her eyebrows at him every five seconds and he’s irritated and anxious by the time that class is over. But as he’s putting his instrument away, Frank walks past him and flashes him a grin. 

“I love your shirt man! You have good taste!” He calls as he walks over to where his friends are waiting. Gerard bites down on his reed, snapping it in half. Jenna just laughs at him as he picks splinters off his tongue.

He glares at her once he’s finished. “You’re really mean to me.”

“Well, it’s my job as your best friend to make fun of you when you’re being ridiculous.”

Gerard rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

“I know you only wore that shirt so he’d talk to you.”

He scoffs. “What? I love the Pumpkins!” 

“Mmhmm. Okay,” she replied with a sly grin. 

“Is this payback for stealing your raspberry lipgloss is the third grade and never giving it back? Am I still being punished?”

Jenna snorts as she links her arm through Gerard’s and they start to head out the door. “I mean, while it is fun to torment you, you’ve gotten pretty good at doing that to yourself just fine without me.” 

Gerard rolls his eyes. “You know, it’s not my fault I can’t talk to boys. I’m the socially awkward transgender son of two women, my best friend is a lesbian, and I’m gay! Men are an enigma to me! I don’t understand how they interact with each other, how they dress, what they even do when they’re not… talking about boobs and drawing penises on everything!” 

Jenna pulls out her phone as she sends a quick text. They’re standing in the mostly empty parking lot, though there are a few groups of seniors gathered in small huddles around their cars. Golden leaves contrast against an azure sky, sunlight dancing through the branches, the smell of autumn on the air. “Hey! I know a lot about dudes! I grew up with three older brothers!”

Gerard raises an eyebrow at her. “God, you’re such a cliché,” he says as he gives her a once over. 

She sticks her tongue out at him. “And you’re not? You’re like a walking billboard for Twinks’R’Us...” she says, pointing at his perfectly painted nails which just so happen to match his sweater. Gerard just flicks her off. “Sophie is picking us up and taking us to the diner.”

“Your car in the shop again?” 

Sophie rolls her eyes. “Yeah, my dad insisted on trying to fix my broken taillight and ended up doing more damage than fixing.”

“To himself or the car?”

She shrugs. “A little of both… He’s been trying to overcompensate by doing all of this “dude” stuff since my mom left. I think part of him is still hung up on not being able to fulfill that hyper-masculine role mom always wanted him to.” 

“She took him coming out pretty hard, then?”

“It didn’t go as badly as I’d expected, considering two out of her four children are very much not straight. She was a little distant at first, but ultimately Dad being bisexual is not what ended their marriage. It was just… something that was always inevitable, they were just trying to put it off.”

“Well, your mom fucking her boss really sped up the whole process didn’t it?” Gerard says with a smirk. Jenna just chuckles and punches his arm a little too hard.

Sophie tears into the parking lot with a vengeance, coming to a screeching halt in front of them. “Hey, Losers! You up for a triple date?!” 

Gerard just gives Jenna a look. “If I survive this car ride, you owe me a milkshake.” 

She spits on her palm and holds it out to him as he recoils. “Deal!”

—

Gerard has spent his life surrounded by lesbians, so he finds himself laughing as he’s squished into a booth between Jenna and Sophie. It’s kind of poetic in a way. Unlike most kids in gay families, he was the biological child of both of his mothers, which definitely made the whole coming out thing a lot easier. And unlike most kids, he not only had two gay moms, but he had been adopted by rest of the neighborhood lesbians, who traveled in and out of his house frequently. But Sophie is by far one of the gayest people Gerard has ever met and it’s kind of scary.

He’s met a lot of butch women in his lifetime, but Sophie takes it to a whole other level. She has the kind of confidence and charm at eighteen that takes most people at least thirty years to develop. When she reaches to open the car door for Jenna and places a gentle hand around her waist in one clean motion, winking slyly at her, Gerard swoons. And he doesn’t even _like_ women! 

The two girls walk into the diner hand in hand and slide into a booth, forcing Gerard in between them so he can’t escape. They gather stares as they do so, but they’re too caught up in each other to notice or care. Jenna is usually nervous to be this open in public, but whenever she’s with Sophie, she gets a little braver. And she glows brighter than the neon sign hanging from the window, her smile radiant and free from worry. 

He kind of envies them for what they have. How well they suit each other, how easily they calm one another down. They’re a picture of gay leisure, with Jenna in her flowery white dress and Sophie in her leather jacket draped around her shoulders. Sophie’s curly hair is cut short, in a way that is both masculine and feminine and Jenna is playing with it when the waitress comes by. Gerard is making gagging noises, which they both ignore.

“Hey, June! How are you today?” Jenna asks as they’re handed menus. 

She smiles widely, her teeth looking even whiter in contrast with the dark red lipstick she’s wearing. “Oh, just great sugar! It’s so great to see you three again! How are you?”

“We’re staging an intervention currently,” Sophie informs and Gerard just rolls his eyes as he sinks into his seat.

“So… I’m guessing you’re gonna need a large basket of fries, one strawberry shake and two chocolate?” 

Jenna grins. “With extra whip cream for the shakes?”

“Hell yeah! It’s not a real intervention without whipped cream.” They all hand the menus back as June scribbles down their order on her notepad. “I’ll have those out for you soon, lovelies!.” 

“Thanks, June! No rush!” Sophie calls. June winks at them over her shoulder as she walks into the kitchen. 

“Babe, did you see the color of her lipstick? It was so gorgeous! How do you feel about doing dark red and black for prom?” Jenna says and Gerard thumps his head down against the table. 

Sophie wrinkles up her nose. “I don’t know, Babe. Wouldn’t we look a little bit like... vampires?”

Jenna narrows her eyes at her. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” 

“I’m just worried that black will wash you out. You’re already so pale…” 

“You’re really ruining my childhood dream of becoming a gorgeous vampire queen.” 

“You’ve been spending way too much time with Gerard,” Sophie teases.

Gerard sits up with a start. “Hey! What the hell!” 

“Gee, what do you think?” 

Gerard just rolls his eyes and slumps back down with his chin on his hands. “Really couldn’t care less about all this prom garbage,” he mumbles grumpily. 

Jenna frowns. “Hey, I know that you’re still mad at me for canceling our plans and I’m sorry.” 

Gerard sighs and shakes his head. “It’s not that, not really anyway… It’s just… it’s mid-March already and I don’t have a date. And everyone knows that you have to have one by April otherwise you’ve become this desperate loser who no one wants to go out with.”

Sophie tilts her head in confusion. “I thought that you had just decided to not go?”

“Right, because my two best friends going together to prom, looking absolutely gorgeous, and having the time of their lives without me is definitely something I want to do…”

“I thought that the whole concept of prom was a “cliché capitalist scheme built on heteronormativity?” Jenna says, already putting on her Mom Face.

“Oh it still is,” Gerard interjects.

“But…?” 

He sighs. “But I really just want to do something normal and cliché for once. I want a cute guy to ask me out and give me an excuse to get all pretty.”

“And by a cute guy, you mean…?” Jenna quirks up her eyebrows and Gerard throws a sugar packet at her.

Gerard groans and slumps back down onto the table.

“So… I guess that brings us to the topic of our meeting today. I think you know why you’re here, Mr. Way,” Sophie begins seriously. 

“Because I can’t drive and have no other ride home so I’m stuck here against my will?”

“You’re here because you have a problem. A problem that you clearly need help with,” Jenna continues.” They’ve clearly rehearsed this and Gerard groans at the absurdity of the entire situation and plunks his head down onto the table loudly.

“If you’re going to tell me that it’s a bad idea to let myself have feelings for Frank, I already know that, okay? I don’t need you guys to make me feel worse about the whole thing.”

“Actually, we want to help you,” Sophie says.

Gerard sits up abruptly. “You what!?” 

Jenna just rolls her eyes. “Jesus, Gerard, don’t act so damn surprised that your friends want to help you be happy.” 

“Okay, sorry…”

“And don’t get all martyr-y and act guilty about this because we genuinely care about you and are sick or seeing you so miserable all of the time,” Jenna continues.

“So… you’re going to help… set me up? With Frank? How?” 

“Oh, trust me, honey, we have our ways,” Sophie says as she looks at Jenna, a maniacal glint in their eyes that tells Gerard that nothing good will come of this. 

“Okay, but what makes you think that Frank is even single? And that he doesn’t have a date already?” 

Sophie rolls her eyes. “Oh, please, Gerard. There are like six queer kids in the entire school and we’re all either closeted or dating each other. Word travels.” 

“If Frank even planning to go? I feel like he and Gerard would be more likely to boycott together than participate.”

“Well, I know one of his buddies, Travis? You know the one with the bad hair who’s always wearing those ratty jeans?” 

Jenna narrows her eyes. “Babe that’s like… all of them…”

“The one who tried to get us to have a threesome with him a couple months ago?”

She wrinkles up her face in disgust. “Oh yeah… that one.” 

“Anyway, we’re lab partners in Chem and are forced to socialize twice a week. And it just sort of… came up. Apparently Frank is waiting for some guy to ask him.”

“Well, did he say if there was any guy in particular?” Gerard asks, suddenly perking up in his seat.

Sophie smiles. “Yeah, so there’s this guy Frank’s been crushing on and apparently he’s been building up the balls to ask him but is like… super nervous.” 

Jenna’s face lights up and Gerard’s urge to slit his own throat with a butter knife intensifies. “So, you’re telling me that we have two useless gays, who clearly like each other-“

“What?! Frank’s not into me!” Gerard exclaims and the girls give him a look. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jenna hisses. “That boy has been making eyes at you all year. He goes out of his way to compliment you nearly every time he sees you, and he almost strangled one of the trumpet girls with his triangle the other day when she was talking shit about you.” 

Gerard’s face turns bright red as he studies the tabletop, shoulder slumping. “Guys, we don’t- we don’t even know if he was talking about me. He could’ve been talking about anyone…”

Sophie is about to say something but is interrupted by June placing a basket of fries on their table. “I’m sorry it took so long, it's just me out here today!” June says with an apologetic smile as she hands Gerard his strawberry shake. He takes a big sip of it immediately and gives himself a killer brain freeze. 

“It’s okay, we’re going to be here for a while anyway. Intervention and all,” Sophie says. 

“What kind of intervention?” June asks with a small chuckle.

“Gerard’s got it bad for a bad boy!” Jenna announces in a singsong voice. Gerard groans and buries his face in his arms. 

“Oh, I know way too much about that, honey! Wasted way too many years of my life chasing after guys I thought I could fix. The best advice I can give you is to not take anything too seriously. Have fun but protect your heart. No guy is worth throwing away your senior year- or your life- for.”

Gerard looks up at her and smiles, “Thanks, I’ll remember that.” 

“Let me know if y’all need anything else okay!” Sophie calls as she heads back to the kitchen. 

After inhaling a handful of fries in one sitting, Sophie continues. “The chances that Frank isn’t absolutely crazy about you are very slim. The only way you can really find out is to- and bear with me on this- but _talk_ to him.”

Gerard looks at her incredulously. “Now _that’s_ just ridiculous!”

Jenna puts a hand to the bridge of her nose and Sophie takes a long drink from her glass like it’s filled with Jameson instead of chocolate milkshake. 

“Honey, I’m sorry but that’s... kind of a requirement.” Sophie muses.

Gerard lets out a long, dramatic sigh. “Luckily, we’re going to help you!” Jenna squeals, clapping her hands together. 

“Great, two lesbians are going to teach me how to talk to boys… what could possibly go wrong?”


	3. Chapter 3

_ The first step is finding common ground. You already have a lot in common, so start there. If you see him, say “Hi,” strike up a conversation about bands, or school, even the fucking weather. You just have to get started and it will all get easier.”  _

Gerard can practically hear Sophie’s voice echoing in his head as he watches Frank lazily pack up his things after band practice a few weeks later. He’s taking his time putting away his clarinet, trying to get his hands to stop shaking and his breathing rate to return to normal. 

Jenna and Sophie are watching him with amusement from the corner of the room, waiting. He was being blackmailed, harassed, one might even go so far as to say  _ oppressed _ . They’re forcing him to go talk to Frank and giving him no option to chicken out. If he does, he’ll have to walk home. And since the universe has decided it’s a perfect day for an early-Spring downpour, Gerard figures he’ll at least try to work up the nerve to go and talk to Frank before he has a panic attack instead, contracts pneumonia and dies tragically young. 

Hopefully his funeral us fabulous. He wonders if his moms would be against bedazzling his tombstone…  _ Focus, Gerard! Focus! _

Quickly he finishes picking up his things, slings his bag over his shoulder and wanders over to the side of the band room where Frank is playing his guitar. He’s alone today, which is both terrifying and a little relieving.Gerard recognizes the song he was singing, in fact it was one of his favorites.

_ “Mirror image, see no damage- see no evil at all. Cupie dolls and urine stalls with be laughed at the ways you’re laughed at now.”  _

Gerard stands there for a few moments, hovering beside him like a creep before Frank looks up and smiles. “Hey, Gerardway! What’s up?”

“I just um… I heard you playing and wanted to- I uh- you’re really- it’s good,” he manages, his face getting more red with every word. 

But Frank just smiles easily, looking like an angel dressed completely in black who’s stolen his older sister's eyeliner. “You like The Replacements?”

“Yeah, they’re um- one of my favorite bands. That song’s like… my favorite of all time. Which, I know, is kind of cliché considering my whole… deal.” Gerard says with a shy smile as he gestures to himself far too emphatically and hits himself in the face.

“Um… Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Gerard says as he pulls his hand away and- yep, that’s definitely blood. He totally just gave himself a bloody nose. Great. Splendid. Fucking  _ fantastic _ . He immediately presses a hand to his face to control the bleeding but it’s already started to drip down his chin and onto his shirt. 

“Shit! You’re bleeding! Here,” Frank reaches over to the table next to him and hands Gerard a wad of tissues. Gerard grabs them thankfully but when he leans over to grab them, some of his blood drips onto Frank’s  _ white _ shirt. Frank looks down in shock and then grabs a few tissues to pad at the blotch. Gerard wants to die immediately on the spot. He mumbles a goodbye to Frank and sulks away, still bleeding and dying inside as he leaves the choir room in a huff.

The girls trail after him, pained expressions on their faces. 

“Well… that didn’t go  _ completely _ terribly…” Sophie starts with a sympathetic smile. Gerard just sighs and slumps his shoulders forward as he stalks down the hallway. 

“Yeah, because I totally didn’t just bleed all over the boy I like!” he says with a groan as he slumps down against the wall. 

“Come on Gee, look on the bright side! You could’ve  _ broken _ your nose. Or his.”

Gerard sighs. “That would’ve probably been less painful…” he whines. 

It takes him another week and a half to build up the courage to go and try to talk to Frank again. The first time, he trips over absolutely nothing and falls on his face. The second time, he knocks over a snare drum and gets scolded by the music teacher instead. The third time he manages to get halfway across the room, headed in Frank’s direction before he throws up in a trash can on the opposite side of the room. 

After that last attempt attempt, Gerard is all but ready to give up but the girls just roll their eyes. They’d invested far too much time and energy into this to give up now. Jenna has even threatened to slap sense into Gerard. Literally. 

He’s anxious nonstop and that day he skips lunch to go mash the keys of the piano until his head and his heart stop hurting. Mr. Evans isn’t in the room but he always leaves the door unlocked for Gerard during the lunch period.

Gerard plops down at the piano and stretches his tired limbs before he pulls out his sheet music and starts to play. He lets the music take over and his brain shuts off. The melody washes over him, building and falling at just the right moments as his fingers dance over the keys and everything else is quiet. He misses a few notes and accidentals in some places but he doesn’t stop. Even if he wants to, he doesn’t think he can. In that moment there is nothing but him and the music. It’s cathartic, healing even. Gerard is so engrossed he doesn’t notice Frank walk into the room and stop to watch. By the time Gerard is finished, Frank’s jaw is nearly on the floor.

“Dude!” Gerard startles when he hears his voice. “That was absolutely fucking insane? What was it?” 

“Um… M-Mozart.”

“Wasn’t he the deaf one?” Gerard can’t help but chuckle.

“Beethoven.” Gerard blurts. Frank raises an eyebrow. “Beethoven was um… he was deaf.” 

“Oh, shit. Well, I was kind of close, right? They’re both dead, both white...” 

Gerard snorts, catching himself off guard. Frank’s smile just gets wider. “So how long have you been playing piano?” 

Gerard scrunches up his face in thought. “Um… since I was six, I think?” 

“Seriously?!” 

Gerard can’t help but smile. “Yeah, my mom is a musician. She thought it was important to get me started early.” 

“That’s so fucking cool. I only know how to play the guitar badly.”

“Hey, you’re pretty good at the triangle,” Gerard says far too easily. He catches himself and thinks,  _ Is this flirting? Am I flirting? And is Frank flirting back? _

“Well, you know, I’m not a piano prodigy but I try,” He says and flashes Gerard a smirk. Suddenly his expression changes and he looks vaguely nervous. “So um… I know this might be kind of lame considering you’re a musical genius and all,” Gerard just smiles and shakes his head. “But um… my band is playing at one of those lame college parties on Friday. We’ll play some original stuff but mostly shitty covers and I um- I was wondering if you’d like to come? I know that parties probably aren’t your thing but…”

Gerard looks up with a start and despite his brain telling him that this was very much a bad idea, he finds himself saying: “Um… yeah! I’d love to come. I- I go to parties all the time! Love them! Totally!”

Frank flashes him another lopsided grin. “Cool! I’ll text you the address- Wait, I’ll need your number for that.  _ Duh _ , Frank…” Then he’s looking at him and Gerard feels himself melting and he barely has the brain power left to fumble around in his bag for a pen. Gerard is floating above his body as Frank gently scrawls his number on the back of Gerard’s hand. 

Later, he’ll find himself tracing the digits and the little smiley face Frank drew next to his own name. He leaves Gerard to finish his practicing after that but he can’t focus because his hands wont stop shaking. Gerard can hardly speak when he meets the girls out in the hallway after lunch.

“Why do you look like you’re going to puke?” Jenna asks with a raised eyebrow. Sophie hits her arm lightly and gives her a look.

Gerard stares straight ahead, wide eyed. “I just um… Frank gave me his number.”

“Gee that’s great! So… why do you look like someone just murdered your puppy?” Sophie asks. 

“He invited me to a college party his band is playing at. I said yes,” he says quietly.

“And that’s a bad thing… how?” 

“Socializing. Boozed up college kids. Leaving my house…” 

Jenna rolls her eyes. “You are literally the only guy in the world upset that their crush asked them to go to a party. Would you feel better about the whole thing if we went with you?” 

“Yes…” Gerard mumbles.

Sophie with smirks as she links her arm with Jenna’s, “Well, honey, it looks like we’re chaperoning our son on his first date!” 

Gerard doesn’t have the energy to argue with her and wants to die more than usual. He can’t quite decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…


	4. Chapter 4

Gerard spends over two hours getting ready, most of it wasted going through his entire wardrobe and deciding that he has absolutely _nothing_ to wear. Jenna eventually has to come over and save him from having a panic attack by picking an outfit for him. Eventually, they settle on his Ramones muscle shirt that he’s knotted at the waist, a black skirt with fishnets underneath, his beat-up Docs, and dark eye makeup with purple lipstick. He’s in the middle of pulling his hair back into a high ponytail when Jenna walks back into the room with Sophie, making whistling sounds.

“Damn! Someone’s looking hot!” Sophie exclaims. Gerard rolls his eyes.

“Figures that lesbians are the only ones who ever find me attractive,” he mutters.

“Hey, I’d totally go straight for you in a goddamned heartbeat!” Jenna says with a grin.

“Thanks?” Gerard says as he puts in a pair of dangly earrings shaped like tiny spaceships. When he’s finally finished he steps back and eyes himself in the mirror. “I don’t know guys, do you think it’s a little… much? I know that we’re going to a college party and everything but I-“

“Gerard. Seriously. You look hot as fuck!” Jenna exclaims as she starts to push her best friend out the door.

“What if I look like I’m trying too hard? What if I just seem desperate?”

“But you _are_ desperate,” Sophie notes as they start to head down the stairs.

Gerard scoffs. “ _Wow_ , okay!”

When they’re at the front door Jenna spins Gerard around and grabs his shoulders firmly, looking him in the eyes. “Gee, you look great and Frank is going to love it, okay? Trust me.”

“And it honestly doesn’t matter what you’re wearing, it’s how you wear it. Confidence is key,” Sophie chimes in.

“And sexy as hell!”

Gerard sighs as they all start to climb into Sophie’s car, unconvinced. He knows that it’s stupid to feel so nervous, but the thought just makes him even more nervous. He’s stuck in his head the entire car ride, butterflies eating away at his insides and almost forgets to fear for his life because of Sophie’s driving. His anxiety only intensifies when they arrive at the address Frank gave Gerard and find that the place in packed. There are people milling about on the front lawn, playing yard games and drinking out of red plastic cups as the sound of music being played very loudly reverberates through the walls of what is clearly a frat house.

Gerard takes a shaky breath as he walks up the drive. Sophie notices and squeezes his hand. “Honey, it’s gonna be fine. You’re going to have a great time, okay?”

He just nods and tries his best to smile although the creeping panic is already setting in. Parties have never been his scene because he hates drinking, crowds, and people in general. So when you combine excessive drug and alcohol use in a hot, cramped space with music playing way too loudly, it’s pretty much the perfect setup to lead to Gerard having a panic attack in the bathroom. But he’s here for Frank, not to party, so he swears that he’s going to try to make the best of it.

“Okay, Gee, before we go in here are some basic ground rules for a college party. One: Do not, under any circumstances set down your drink or let someone make you one unless you watch them do it. Two: College guys are to be avoided at all costs, especially when they’re drunk. And finally- don’t use the bathroom or even go within a twenty-foot radius of it.” Jenna informs as they walk through the door. Gerard just rolls his eyes again.

“Okay, Mom…”

The first floor of the house is even more packed then how it appeared on the outside and Gerard starts to feel claustrophobic within seconds. People are milling about every corner, dancing or talking loudly, everyone in their own little groups. There’s a drum kit and a few guitars set up in the living room, though music is currently playing from a stereo in the corner. A game of beer pong going on in the dining room and a couple heavily making out in the stairwell leading to the second floor.

Sophie notices someone in the crowd and waves at them excitedly. “You guys… know people here?” Gerard asks.

“Yeah, we come to parties here all the time!” Jenna says.

“We’re lesbians in a small town, how do you think we meet other lesbians?” Sophie says with a smirk as she tilts her head towards a group of girls mostly dressed in flannel shirts, all sporting brightly colored hair or undercuts.

Gerard shrugs, “Fair enough, I guess.”

“So we’re going to go hang out over there. Do you want to come with, or…”

“Nah, I think I’m gonna just go make myself a drink and look for Frank.”

“Okay, we’ll be here if you need us! Good luck!” Jenna gives him a tight squeeze before the two of them disappear into the crowd. Gerard immediately makes a beeline for the kitchen, which is currently empty.

He gives himself a moment to breathe and rummages around one of the coolers until he finds a lukewarm Diet Coke. He pops it open and almost takes a sip, but hesitated before he dumps it into a plastic cup. He’ll probably have less of a chance looking like a complete and utter dweeb this way… Gerard lingers in the kitchen for a while, nursing his Coke and scrolling through Tumblr for a while before he decides he should probably go and join the party. However, he’s so caught up in his thoughts he doesn’t see the guy moving through the doorway at the same time as he is and crashes right into him, spilling his drink all over him.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry!” Gerard exclaims as he takes a step then realizes that he’s dumped his drink all over the front of Frank’s t-shirt.

Frank just chuckles. “Hey, it’s okay, I wear all black for a reason. And it was my bad, I should’ve been watching where I was going.” Gerard hurriedly reaches for some napkins from the counter and starts to dab at Frank’s chest. He blushes when he realizes that he can feel Frank’s toned stomach underneath. “Here- I’ll make you a new one. What’d you have? A Rum and Coke?”

 _Yeah, totally! …Minus the Rum and double the Coke._ “Um yeah, thanks.” Frank grabs Gerard’s cup, fills it with ice, pours an entire can of Coke inside then grabs the bottle of Captain Morgan and starts to pour. “Tell me when you’re good, hun.”

Gerard lets him pour for a few seconds too long before he says, “That’s good.” Frank hands him the glass and smiles. “Thank you, that’s um really sweet of you.”

Frank grins. “S’no problem. Anyway, how are you? You look really nice. Not that you don’t always. But you uh look especially nice tonight.” Frank runs a hand through his hair and his shirt rides up slightly, revealing the tiniest sliver of skin. Gerard _totally_ doesn’t notice.

“Thanks, your face is good, too. I mean! Y-you look good, too...” Gerard is already bright red and already finding it difficult to speak in coherent sentences. He takes a long drink from his cup and immediately regrets it as he tries not to retch.

Frank doesn’t even seem phased, though and smiles even wider, his teeth perfect and white, his mouth so incredibly kissable. “Aw, I bet you tell all the guys that,” he teases.

“Nah, just you,” Gerard blurts. He swears he sees Frank blush but convinces himself he’s just seeing things.

“So, I should probably go help the band set up. But our set isn’t super long so, I should be back in a few, okay?”

“Yeah, totally! I can’t wait,” Gerard says, nerves starting to slip away the more he looks at Frank smiling at him.

“Cool! I'll come find you after,” he calls over his shoulder with a small wave before walking back into the living room.

Gerard takes a moment to literally swoon against the counter, like a fucking dainty Victorian woman. Then he takes another big gulp of his drink, gags some more, and then follows Frank through the doorway. This is going to be a good night, regardless of what happens, he tells himself. Because Frank Iero just said he looked nice. _Nice!_

He’s floating on cloud nine when Jenna and Sophie rush over to him. “Hey! So… minor problem!”

Gerard arches an eyebrow as he’s ripped from his reverie. “What did you guys break already?

Jenna says, “Nothing!” at the same time that Sophie says “A vase…”

“That is not the point! We came to warn you.”

“About…”

“Mikey’s here,” Jenna says finally.

“Shit! Really? Where?” Gerard ducks behind Jenna, who rolls her eyes because she’s shorter than him.

“He’s at the front of the room near the band, talking to the curly haired guy behind the drums.”

Gerard sees him and groans. “God, why is he here? He’s always talking about how he’s too “cool” for college parties…”

“Well, if I had to hazard a guess, to flirt with the drummer of Frank’s band,” Sophie says with a smirk.

Gerard rolls his eyes. “Whatever, Mikey’s not gay.”

“Right, Okay. Sure, hun,” Jenna says, giving Sophie a knowing look.

“He can’t see me here. He’ll get all weird about it and probably want to drag me home and get me grounded until I’m thirty.”

“Just tell him you’re here for a guy, clearly he is, too,” Sophie suggests and Gerard sighs.

“I’m so not going to do that. Mikey still treats me like I’m freaking twelve and acts like he has to protect me from the world.”

“Which is ridiculous because you’re more of a danger to yourself than anything else,” Jenna teases.

“Hey!”

“Come and hang out with us until the set starts, you can hide inside the Circle of Lesbians in the corner,” Sophie says as Jenna starts tugging him towards the back of the room.

“Oh joy, never done that before…”

After being forced to socialize for the next half an hour, Gerard finds an abandoned armchair near the group and drapes himself in it as he watches Frank’s band set up their instruments at the front of the living room. He’s lost in his thoughts as the party swarms around him, other people mostly ignoring him (except for a drunk girl who gets distracted by his lipstick and then has to be pulled away by her friends when she starts crying for no reason). He really regrets not bringing a book as he waits for Frank’s band to start playing.

The sound of a guitar shrieking startles him to his feet and he wanders closer to the front of the room, drink still in hand, abandoning the girls who are dancing together happily. The band plays messily and loudly, making every bone in Gerard’s body rattle in the best way. He can’t understand a word that the lead singer is saying, but even if he could, it wouldn’t matter. All of his attention is on Frank, his hair falling in his face, and tongue poking out as his fingers fly over the frets. He knows instantly that he’d pay just to watch Frank play, with that silly grin on his face, his entire body in tune with the music.

After spending most of his childhood at classical piano recitals and stuffy concert halls, Gerard’s forgotten how fun and interesting music could actually be. There’s a freedom to Frank’s playing Gerard wishes he’s brave enough to have. It doesn’t matter if he comes in too early or plays a wrong chord, he never stops playing like the band is playing to millions of people and not fifty at most. After two songs, Frank is covered in sweat, his hair messier than when he started. He finds Gerard in the crowd and winks, looking far too sexy for his own good. When the set ends, Frank packs up his guitar quickly and makes a beeline for Gerard. “Hey! So… what’d you think?” he asks excitedly.

“It was very... loud,” Gerard blurts.

Frank laughs. “I hope that’s a good thing!”

“I-it is! So many musicians are focused on being proper and abiding by the rules that they forget to actually enjoy what they do. Making noise can be really cathartic, but a lot of people never get to that place because it means letting go of everything they thought they were. It’s really um impressive, actually?” Gerard knows he’s speaking a little too fast and to his shoes more than Frank’s face but Frank doesn’t seem to care.

“Exactly! I don’t know if we’re all that good but we make a lot of noise so that’s all that matters to me.”

“How long have you been playing guitar?”

“Since I was eight.”

“Really?”

“Don’t seem so impressed, Mr. Child Prodigy! But yeah, my dad was a musician. He taught me how to play. This was one of his guitars actually,” Frank holds up his case with a small smile.

“Was? Does he not play anymore?”

Frank looks away, smile falling from his lips. “I guess you could say that. He uh… died when I was twelve.”

 _Dammit, Gerard._ “Oh, I’m- I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. You didn’t know. It’s not something I really talk about.” They linger awkwardly in silence for a moment before Frank smiles and the tension floats away as quickly as it came. “So you liked the band?”

Gerard can’t help but smile back. “I loved it. You’re amazing.” They’re busy looking at each other with big, silly grins on their faces to notice the guy coming towards them. He pushes past Frank roughly, stomping on Gerard’s foot and accidentally spilling his beer all over his very white shirt. He doesn’t have time to apologize though, because he’s too busy vomiting into a ficus.

“Shit!” Gerard says as the smell of Coors begins to permeate his senses and drip down his stomach and legs.

“Here, I’ll help clean you up,” Frank says as they head to the kitchen. He sets his guitar down and starts to ball up paper towels and hand them to Gerard.

“Well, I guess the universe got me back for assaulting you earlier,” Gerard says softly as he lifts his shirt up to wipe off his stomach. “This is probably going to stain, though…” he says sadly.  
Gerard stand over the sink to wring out his shirt and sighs.

“This is basically the most interesting thing that happens at these parties…” Frank says with an apologetic smile. “I wasn’t planning on staying very long after we played.”

“Oh, really?” Gerard asks, trying not to sound too deflated.

“Yeah, I was probably going to go get a burger or something, if you… maybe want to come with?” he asks hopefully.

Gerard looks up with a start. “Really? I mean um… yeah, I would- I would love that a lot.”

“Cool! Um,” Frank smiles as he runs a hand through his sweaty hair again. It shouldn’t leave Gerard as flustered as it does but he has to force himself to look away. “I have a spare shirt in my car if you want to change, too.”

“Yeah, I would like that very much,” Gerard says gratefully.

“Awesome! I’m gonna finish helping the guys pack up and then I’ll come find you, okay?”

Gerard just nods far too enthusiastically and forgets for a moment that his head hurts and he smells like cheap beer. He wanders back out into the living room to go tell his friends he’s leaving when a loud voice says: “What the fuck are you doing here?”

He looks up startled to see Mikey, his older brother, glaring at him. Gerard just grins guiltily. “Um…” Mikey sees the cup still in his hand and can clearly smell the beer on him. His eyes narrow and he shakes his head.

“Are you fucking drinking? Gerard, What the hell?”

“Hey, I have a very reasonable explanation for this!” Mikey raises an eyebrow, humoring him. “Okay, so it’s only a _kind of_ reasonable explanation… I was invited here. By this guy…”

Mikey’s scowl just gets bigger. “Don’t tell me you’re dating some college guy, Gerard. You’re still a fucking kid!”

Gerard rolls his eyes. “I’m _eighteen_ , Mikey. I am not a goddamn kid! And I go to school with the guy. Frank. He’s in the band.”

Mikey’s face flashes with recognition. “Oh. Okay.”

“Wait, you know him?!”

Mikey sighs. “Yes, Gee, I know him. My b- _friend_ is the drummer. So I see him around a lot. He’s a good kid… when he feels like it. How do you know him?”

“We have marching band together.”

“He really needed that last art credit, huh?” Mikey says with a wry smile. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be here. I’m taking you home.”

“Actually, I was just leaving,” Gerard says grandly as he attempts to step around his brother. Mikey easily steps to the side and blacks his path.

“Uh huh, and how are you getting home?” He asks with an arched eyebrow.

“Frank and I are going to get food.”

“Yeah, right. That’s why you’re wearing your slutty skirt,” Mikey says with a pointed look downwards at Gerard’s outfit.

Gerard snorts. “Michael, do you not know me at all? All my skirts are slutty skirts! And besides, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing or not because I’m an adult who can make my own decisions and doesn’t need you to baby me. I can take care of myself.”

Mikey crosses his arms. “Gerard, you barely know this kid. What if does something to try to-“

“You just told me he was a good kid!”

“Yeah, he’s a good kid when he’s not dating my brother! The second that changes, he’s a no good punk!”

Gerard rolls his eyes and can’t help but laugh. “I don’t need you to be my father Mikey. I got along just fine without one of those for eighteen years.”

Mikey runs an exasperated hand over his face and sighs. “Gerard, I’m being serious. You can’t blame me for worrying about you when you show up to a college party wearing fishnets and the bottom half of a Catholic school girl uniform. When most days Mom can’t get you to put on pants, let alone leave the house.”

Gerard just sighs and uncrosses his arms. “Mikey…”

“Basically what I’m saying is that… We all got off easy when you were younger. We didn’t have to worry about you going out and dating boys. And now that I see you finally out and doing it… I guess I just went through all the stages of grief in ten minutes. I’m sorry.”

Gerard can’t help but smile as he pulls his brother into a hug. “You’re a fucking sap, Michael Way.”

“I learned from the best,” he says, punching Gerard’s arm lightly. “Just… please be careful, okay? Because I’d have to break a lot of noses if you got hurt and I can’t afford to get blood on this shirt.”

Gerard snorts as he takes in Mikey’s lanky frame. Their whole lives, Mikey has had the physique of a string bean. However, this has not deterred him from offering to beat up anyone who so much as looked at Gerard the wrong way. This was hilarious to everyone who actually knew him because he was a soft, gentle boy who absolutely hated conflict. But their family was undeniably very queer and this was something that many people took offense to in their conservative, Catholic town. So Mikey had broken a few noses on Gerard’s behalf before and he would willingly do so again.

“I will, dummy,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “So… you’re not going to tell our moms I was here?” he asks hopefully.

Mikey snorts. “No, I won’t. This is what… your first party since you started high school? I think I’ll survive. However…” Mikey takes Gerard’s drink from him. “This is not something I can allow.”

Gerard just shrugs and hands it to him. “Okay.”

Mikey looks at him suspiciously and takes a drink. “Since when have you liked alcohol? I tried to get you to have a sip of wine last Christmas and you nearly vomited.”

Gerard looks at him guiltily. “I wanted to… look cool?” It sounds just as stupid coming out of his mouth as it does in his head and Mikey gives him another glare.

“You’re… something else, Gee.” Frank wanders back over and gives Mikey a fist bump in greeting.

“Hey, Mikey! I had no idea you were coming out tonight!”

Mikey smiles and rolls his eyes. For as much as he does it, it’s a marvel they stay in his head, Gerard thinks. “As if Ray would let me miss it. Also, apparently I need to be around to supervise,” he says, throwing another glare at Gerard.

“You guys… know each other?” Frank asks as he takes a drink from his own cup.

Mikey laughs. “Since birth. I helped change his diapers.” This manages to make Gerard turn even redder. “He’s my brother.”

“No shit? I feel so dumb for never noticing.”

“It’s cool, we look nothing alike,” Mikey says.

“No, now that you told me I can totally see it. You both have the same hazel eyes and that little dimple beneath your chin. It’s subtle, but definitely there.”

“So, which of us is the hot brother, huh, Frankie?” Mikey asks with a mischievous grin. Frank grins but his cheeks turn a darker shade of red than before.

“Well, I- er um-“ For once, Frank is at a loss for words and Gerard is shocked.

“I was just joking, kiddo, don’t worry,” Mikey says with a wink.

Gerard knows what he’s doing and glares at him when Frank isn’t looking. After making Gerard promise to text him when he gets home, Mikey says his goodbyes and wanders off into the crowd to go find his friend. He sends a text to Jenna telling her where he’s going and she simply sends back, _“Get it! ;)”_

Gerard is red again when Frank grabs his hand and starts to pull him towards the door. “Okay, let's blow this popsicle stand!” Frank exclaims.

Gerard’s head feels fuzzy as Frank helps him into the car. He feels like moths are eating holes in his stomach lining as he settles into the seat. Frank reaches into the back and hands Gerard a faded T-shirt with a band name on it he doesn’t recognize.

Gerard doesn’t hesitate in stripping off his wet shirt, not even giving himself time to feel embarrassed. He’s wearing his binder anyways… Gerard tugs it gently over his head and once he’s fully clothed once more he murmurs a “thank you” to Frank who just hums in response. The drive to the diner is quiet, but not a completely uncomfortable kind of quiet. Gerard isn’t sure what to say so he just stares at his feet for most of the ride. He’s really surprised that Frank’s car is so clean, with only his guitar on the floor and a small pile of CDs and tapes in the backseat.

When they arrive, Frank opens Gerard’s door for him. Gerard beats Frank to the entrance of the diner however and holds it open with a cheeky grin that Frank returns.

“So chivalry isn’t dead,” Frank remarks teasingly.

“Nope, it’s just not heterosexual,” Gerard mumbles and Frank laughs loudly.

“Are you implying that you’re not straight Gerard Way?”

Gerard quirks up an eyebrow at him as they slide into a booth. “There is literally nothing about me that’s straight,” he says far too seriously.

“Good to know,” Frank says with a mischievous smile.

“What can I get you boys today?” June says as she appears out of thin air. “I’m assuming you want the usual, Gerard? Small strawberry shake, small fries, extra cherries?”

Gerard smiles widely, “Yes, ma’am.”

“And for you, hun?”

“I’ll have a veggie burger, a large chocolate shake, a basket of mozzarella sticks… and a coffee. Black.” June just smiles as she writes down their order. “How are you tonight?”

June chuckles. “Honestly? Bored out of my mind. But hey! It’s quiet at least.”

“Well, I promise we’ll make a lot of noise just to keep it interesting,” Frank jokes and June laughs loudly. “I love your tattoos by the way. They’re really gorgeous.”

“Aw thank you, doll! Designed them myself!”

“Really? That’s so fucking cool!”

June nods. “Yep, I wanted to be a tattoo artist but had my daughter before I graduated high school. Life just happens sometimes and messes up your plans, you know?”

Frank smiles sadly. “Yeah, I totally get that.”

“You’re still applying to art schools though, right?” Gerard asks.

“I am! My partner has been helping watch my daughter while I work on applications. It’s been really exciting, building my portfolio and going through all my stuff again.”

“Good, that’s awesome! You’ll let me know when you found out anything, right?” Gerard asks happily.

“Of course, dear! How’re yours going, by the way?”

“I just finished a couple and sent them out the other day. I’m really hoping to hear back from this art school in New York I went to with my moms last October.”

“Nice!” June says as she gives Gerard a fist bump. “Keep me updated alright? I’ll have these out for ya soon!” she calls as she wanders back into the kitchen.

“So you’re going to school for art? Not music?” Frank asks.

Gerard shrugs. “I really want to do something with comics. It’s always been a dream of mine. I’m thinking of going for illustration and graphic design right now.”

“Comics? Really? That’s so cool! I wouldn’t have pictured as the type.”

“Well, I guess there’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Gerard says with a grin.

“I guess I’ll just have to learn it all, then,” Frank replies, returning Gerard’s smile as he leans forward against the table, looking like nothing but trouble in the most glorious way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins! ;) To be honest, I'm halfway through college and I've never been to a real party before lol. Gerard and I are kindred spirits, that's all I gotta say. Like always, comments/feedback are greatly appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

“So what’s one thing about yourself that no one else knows?” Frank’s asks, leaning on the table top to get closer to Gerard. 

Gerard takes a long, contemplative sip from his milkshake. “Like what…?”

“You don’t have to share anything too weird or personal if you don’t want to.” 

Gerard smiles. “Okay…”

“I’ll go first. My favorite movie is “The Little Mermaid,” Frank says.

“Seriously? No way!”   

Frank’s nose crinkles up when he smiles. Gerard adds it to the long list of reasons why he’s so enamored by him. 

“I have an image to maintain, you know?” He says with a shrug. “And being a guy who knows the words to every song from a Disney princess movie conflicts with that I guess?” Frank takes a bite of his burger and looks at Gerard expectantly. Gerard worries his lip, wondering just how much he wants to reveal. 

“Okay, um… Well… When I was a kid, I was really obsessed with Sailor Moon? And I… may have convinced myself that I was secretly a magical girl who still had to discover her powers?”

“That’s actually really adorable.”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize I wasn’t one until I was twelve and I figured out I um wasn’t a girl at all…” 

Gerard dips a fry into his milkshake as he watches Frank inhale the rest of his burger. He offers Gerard the last mozzarella stick, which he declines and then sucks down the rest of his shake in five minutes flat. It’s kind of impressive actually, and Gerard voices as much.

Frank laughs. “Playing a show always makes me super hungry and horny. It’s like a really intense workout but sexier,” He says with a grin. Gerard knows he’s probably as red as the cracked leather of the seat behind him.

Gerard decides to do his best ignore that last part and continue the conversation before he forgets how to speak again. “So… do you usually invite people out to see your shows?” By “people” he clearly meant other guys and hoped that wasn’t too obvious.

“Every now and then. But they always leave after the first couple of songs,” he says with a shrug. “You’re the only one who’s ever stayed for a full set.”

“Really?” 

“Yep, I like to think it’s because I’m _very_ underrated,” he says slyly. Gerard giggles as he pops a cherry into his mouth and lets the juice splash over his tongue. “So, what’s something else I don’t know about you, Gerard Way?” 

Gerard glances down at the to go cup full of maraschino cherries in front of him. “When I was ten I taught myself how to tie cherry stems into knots with my tongue…”

“Really? Show me!”

Gerard takes the stem in his hand and puts it into his mouth, tying it into a knot in a few seconds. He sticks his tongue out to show Frank. “No shit! You have a very talented tongue, huh?”

Frank’s grin is mischievous as Gerard nearly chokes on the cherry stem and has to wash it down with a large gulp of milkshake. “Yeah, thanks I bet you do, too,” he manages to spit out before realizing his mistake. “I- I Um.. I mean- w-what about you?” he asks finally after gaining what’s left of his composure (although it’s very little). 

Frank doesn’t seem the slightest bit bothered. “Well, I think my deepest darkest secret is that… I’ve never eaten fries with ice cream before.”

“Seriously?!”

“Yeah, I hate mixing foods together. I always have. My mom had to buy me those little sectioned plates as a kid because I went on a hunger strike when my peas and mashed potatoes touched once.”

“You’ve been deprived of one of the greatest joys in life,” he says, dipping a fry into his shake and handing it to Frank with much grandeur. “Here.”

Frank eyes it with suspicion and Gerard laughs. “I promise it won’t kill you.”

He pops it into his mouth after a few moments of debate and Gerard laughs at the look of pure bliss on his face. “Well?”

“That was actually really fucking good,” he says, already dipping another fry into Gerard’s milkshake.

“Sometimes things you never expect to go together suit each other perfectly, you know?” Frank says softly, smiling brightly at him. At this precise moment, Gerard loses what’s left of his cool and accidentally knocks over his milkshake with a shaky hand, spilling it across the table. He feels his face burning as he helps Frank sop up the puddle with napkins. He almost has a heart attack when their hands brush against each other. 

“Do you want me to order you another one?” Frank asks sweetly as he carries the pile of napkins to a nearby trash can.

“Oh n-no, I- that’s- that’s okay. I wasn’t… I wasn’t very hungry anyway.” His stomach has started to twist itself in knots again as Gerard beats himself up over the fact that he can’t seem to go ten minutes without saying something stupid or knocking something over. 

“Hey! This place has a jukebox!” Frank says as he wanders over to the corner, oblivious to Gerard’s inner turmoil. “I haven’t seen one of these in  _ forever _ !” Frank leans over the glass to stare at the song selections labeled beneath, his face lit up by the brightly colored lights beneath. “Do you want to pick a song?” 

Gerard stands beside him to gaze down at the glass and reaches into his purse to fish out some change. “Um sure. What do you… what do you like?” 

“Surprise me.”

Gerard scans the list, which contains a lot of terrible 80s pop songs, with all of the song titles and artists painstakingly written in faded ballpoint pen on pieces of paper. His face lights up and he looks up at Frank shyly as he slides a quarter into the coin slot and punches in the number. 

He bites his lip as “I Melt With You” by Modern English starts to play through the speakers. “I know that it’s cheesy…”

Frank just shakes his head and smiles. “No, it’s not! I like this song.”

“I mean, who doesn’t love songs about people having sex during a nuclear war?” Gerard blurts before he realizes just how stupid and awkward that is to say.

“That makes those old Hershey’s commercials a lot more disturbing, huh?” Frank says, gently nudging Gerard’s side with his elbow. 

He wants nothing more than to kiss him then, beneath the glow of the neon open sign that’s painting Frank’s soft face pink and blue. For a moment, as he slowly looks up to meet Frank’s gaze, Gerard really does feel like the world has stopped. Time stands still whenever Frank looks at him, all sights and sounds blurring to a crawl and leaving Gerard with the desire to do nothing more but melt into him.

They linger at the glass for a moment, faces illuminated by the lights beneath, so close it would only take the slightest movement to fill the space. It would really have been a beautiful moment for his first kiss if it had lasted. But seconds before their lips had the chance to meet, Gerard’s phone starts ringing in his purse, filling the room with the theme song to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” 

He pulls back like he’s been slapped and takes out his phone to silence the ringer when he realizes that not only does he have three texts and two missed calls from his mother, but it’s also 12:45 and he was supposed to be home forty-five minutes ago. Gerard gives Frank an apologetic look. 

“It’s my mom, I-I’m sorry,” he says before hitting the “accept call” button. “Um... hi, mom.” 

“Gerard, thank God! We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for an hour! Are you okay?” 

Gerard bites his lip. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just... out.” 

“Out?” Josie repeats.

“Yes?” He knows he’s pushing his luck, but doesn’t want to embarrass himself more than he already has by explaining that he’s on a Sort-Of Date. 

“So you _haven’t_ been kidnapped?” Gerard can hear Lora laughing in the background.

_ “Honey, he’s eighteen! He’s old enough to not get kidnapped!” _

“Adults get kidnapped all the time Loralei! Plus he’s small!” 

“I-I’m not  _ that _ small! I’m taller than most guys!” 

“You have your pepper spray, right, honey?” Josie asks. Gerard rolls his eyes. 

“ _ Yes _ , Mom.” 

“Okay, great! Now, you’re not doing drugs or dancing naked in the woods are you?” Whilst his mother’s words sounded like a joke, after eighteen years, he knew that she was serious (mostly).

“N-no! Why would you think that?”

“Well, you’ve never missed curfew before. Your mother and I are worried that you joined a gang or something,” Josie says.

_ “I’m not worried at all, Gee! Your mother is just a loon!” _

Gerard runs a hand through his hair exasperatedly and can’t bring himself to look at Frank, who’s giggling quietly next to him as he leans against the jukebox. “So… am I grounded now that you know that I’m not dead?”

“Well, it depends on if you actually joined a gang or not.”

“I didn’t join a gang, mother. I-I’m-“  Frank goes over to the counter to talk to Lucy while Gerard fights the urge to spontaneously combust.

“Who’s that with you? I hear somebody with you. Is that a boy?”

“Yes, Mom, it’s-“

“Who is he? Do I know him? Since when have you known any boys?”

Gerard scoffs. “Wow, okay! His name is Frank, we have band together, remember?”

“Oh! Are you on a date?”

Gerard feels his face burning red as Frank meets his eyes and gives him a knowing smile. “Um… I have to go, Mom.”

“So it  _ is _ a date!”

“I’ll be home soon, okay?” He doesn’t wait for them to reply before he hangs up. Gerard shoots Frank an apologetic look and sighs.

“I-I’m really sorry about that. I totally forgot about my curfew and my moms are really overprotective…”

“Hey, it’s okay. We can head out if that’s okay with you?” Gerard nods gratefully as they both wander towards the counter to collect their bill.

“Alright, boys! All ready to go?” Lucy asks as she adjusts her ponytail.

They both nod politely and Gerard is in the process of pulling out his wallet when Frank places a hand on his wrist and shakes his head, flashing Gerard a brilliant smile. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it covered.”

“Oh, what a gentlemen you are! I think you should keep this one, Gerard,” she says with a wink as she punches the cash amount into the register. Gerard can only stand there blushing as Frank is handed the receipt, murmuring a goodbye to Lucy as they exit the diner.

Frank makes a big show out of opening the door for Gerard and helping him into the car. He’s a stuttering, fuzzy mess by the time he’s buckled into the passenger seat and Frank seems as cool and confident as ever. Gerard only speaks to tell Frank how to get to his house and Frank makes casual small talk, though the atmosphere between them feels different than before and Gerard can’t quite decide why. By the time Frank parks his car in Gerard’s driveway, a village of knots has started to form in his stomach. Gerard slowly starts to collect his things, willing his hands to stop shaking. It’s very clear that they are both waiting for the other to say something or make a move. But Gerard can’t stop freaking out long enough to move his limbs properly, let alone think straight.

“I um… I had a really good time tonight,” Frank says finally, running a hand through his hair.

“I- I did, too,” Gerard murmurs.  

“Maybe we can uh- hang out again, sometime?” It suddenly occurs to Gerard that Frank has been just as nervous as him this whole time and causes his stomach to flutter.

“Yes!” He finds himself replying with far too much enthusiasm and winces. 

“Good, I’d like that a lot.” Frank’s voice just keeps getting softer and his face just keeps getting closer to Gerard’s. All of the air suddenly feels like it’s been sucked from the car and Gerard is holding his breath as he’s pulled into Frank’s orbit.

_ Oh my god, this is actually happening!  _ Gerard thinks.  _ Frank Iero is actually going to kiss me!  _

He finally feels himself relaxing, giving in to the pull, his eyes beginning to slip closed, the smell of Frank’s cologne and the warmth emanating from his skin only getting closer, until…

The porch and overhead garage lights both turn on at the same time, bathing them in light and exposing them completely. Gerard pulls back sharply as he sees the outline of his mothers in the front window. Frank just laughs and meets Gerard’s eyes, his joy infectious and unwavering.

“Well, it looks like I’ll have to get a rain check on that, huh?” He says mischievously.

Gerard bites his lip and nods sadly. “Yeah… I’m sorry. I- I should um… I should go?” 

Frank just nods and Gerard unbuckles his seatbelt but gently grabs his hand before he exits the car. He brings Gerard’s hand to his lips and gazes up at him beneath his eyelashes as he presses a gentle kiss to it. “Goodnight, Gerard,” he says, his lips curving into that half-moon smile Gerard is so captivated by. 

“Goodnight, Frank,” he manages as he opens the door. 

He gives Frank a small wave when he gets to the porch that is returned with a kiss being blown in his direction before he’s pulling out of the yard and driving away. It’s only after he’s already across the threshold of his house, mentally preparing himself for a lecture from his parents that he realizes he’s still wearing Frank’s shirt. And smiling like an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've had writer's block like crazy and attempted to write this scene about six times, haha. To be honest, I'm still not happy with it and I know it's a little short, but I promise longer updates will be up soon! I'm really excited to finally introduce Gerard and Mikey's parents and explore that dynamic as well as the relationship between Gerard and Frank. 
> 
> As always, comments are very appreciated and I love y'all very much! <3


	6. Chapter 6

Gerard doesn’t see Jenna and Sophie the following Monday until their free lunch hour, but endures their prodding questions in their group chat for the majority of the morning. He just wants to enjoy his peanut butter sandwich in peace when they both charge over to him in the commons area, gleeful smiles on their faces. 

He pretends not to notice them as he carefully chews his sandwich and replies to a text from Mikey. “So…?” Jenna asks expectantly, far too excited for her own good.

“So, what?” Gerard asks, popping a grape into his mouth.

“How did your date go, fuckface? We’ve been dying to hear about it all day.”

“Oh, I bet that must’ve been so hard, actually minding your own business for once!” Gerard hisses. 

“You know, he doesn’t have to talk about it if he doesn’t want to,” Sophie says as she stabs a straw into her juice box- which Jenna immediately steals and takes a long drink from. 

“Yeah, it’s a little thing called privacy?”

Jenna scoffs. “We don’t have privacy in this relationship! We tell each other everything! I told you when I got my first zit and my period. Even when I lost my virginity!”

Gerard rolls his eyes. “Against my will, I might add,” he said pointedly, looking at Sophie as they shared a knowing smirk. 

“Gerard! Come on!”

“Fine, fine. If you’re holding me at gunpoint…” So he tells them everything, even the tiny details, like the way Frank kept glancing up at him and smiling while he talked. Or the way their fingers brushed when they were getting into the car. Sophie listens intently, smiling and making encouraging noises, while Jenna interjects every other sentence, gleeful and obnoxious as ever. He kind of loves their excitement, even though he hates the attention. 

“So… is it stupid of me to still be wondering if he actually likes me?” Gerard asks.

Jenna chuckles and buries her head into Sophie’s shoulder. “Honey, a boy doesn’t ask you out, act like a complete gentleman, and then try to kiss you if he doesn’t like you,” Sophie says kindly.

“Although I know absolutely nothing about men, believe me when I say this, Gee; that boy is so into you. He practically melts when you walk past him.” 

“Really?” 

“Yep, like a goddamned marshmallow. You just have to have the confidence to let him know that you like him back.” 

Gerard makes a face. “Seriously?! I have to say it out loud?”

Jenna shares another look with Sophie share another look, an odd combination of fondness and annoyance and says, “God, we still have so much work to do.” 

—

After another pep talk from the girls, Gerard is informed that it’s his turn to make the first move. Frank already went to the trouble to get Gerard’s number, ask him out on a date, and buy him dinner. In doing so, he had made it very clear how he felt for Gerard. So Gerard now has to return the favor, otherwise it will look like he either doesn’t care or is leading Frank on, according to Sophie. They go on for a while about “love languages” and “nonverbal signals” while Gerard tries really hard to absorb their advice instead of outright panicking. 

He’s never had to ask a boy out on a date before. Hell, he’s never even dated any boys before Frank. Gerard doesn’t know the first thing about being romantic or charming. So this is why it takes him nearly a week to text Frank back. Whenever he sees him in class, they conveniently avoid each other. He knows it’s stupid, but he likes Frank so much that the thought of talking to him most days makes Gerard want to puke (again) out of nervousness.

Eventually he is given no choice by the universe when he nearly runs Frank over one day after practice and knocks over a snare drum. 

“Oh, shit!” Gerard exclaims as the instrument falls to the ground with a clatter.

Frank chuckles as he sets it back up properly. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before.”

“Y-yeah?” 

“Yeah, I like it. It’s sexy.” 

Gerard’s eyes widen at that. “Um- t-thank you?”

Frank smiles as he picks up his bag. “So, how’ve you been?”

“I’ve been um- good. You?”

Frank shrugs and smiles. “Same old, really.” They linger there awkwardly for a few moments.

“Anyway I uh- I came over because I-” Gerard pauses to reach into his bag and Frank’s face lights up. “-wanted to give you your shirt back,” he murmurs as he hands the bundle to Frank who frowns slightly. “I washed it. But by hand because it looks pretty old and I didn’t want the decals to peel off or anything. Because you can’t find vintage band tees like that anymore and it would really suck to- I’m rambling again. Shoot.”

Frank chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “Hey, you’re good. Actually it was a shirt from my dad’s band back in the day. He gave it to me when I turned ten. It was a dress on me then but I loved it.”

“Oh that’s so cool! Thanks for letting me borrow it. And for inviting me to see your band and being so sweet and I- I really liked hanging out with you.”

“I really liked hanging out with you too.”

“Anyway I was um… I was wondering if maybe you wanted to er hang out again? With me? Tonight? If you’re not busy or don’t already have plans or anything...”

“I mean, I did have plans tonight but… they’ll be much better done with company,” Frank says with a wink and devilish smirk. 

“Oh? Y-yeah?”

Frank must notice Gerard’s expression because he just laughs. “It’s nothing like that! Get your mind out of the gutter, Way!” he nudges his side gently as he holds open the door for him and they step out into the hallway. Gerard’s heart is beating a little to fast when Frank asks, “You’re not religious, are you?” 

Gerard isn’t sure exactly what he’s suspecting when they finally get to Frank’s house. After Gerard gets over the initial shock he informed Frank that, no, he wasn’t religious in the slightest and then asks why. Frank just laughs and tells Gerard that it’s a surprise with a wicked smile

The first thing that Gerard notices when he walks into the Iero house is the overwhelming smell of floral perfume. And that nearly every wall is covered in gilded crosses of various sizes or pictures of different saints. Gerard stands in the foyer staring at the massive collection of crucifixes on the kitchen wall as Frank rummages around in the cabinets for something. 

After he finds what he’s looking for, he gazes over at Gerard and laughs. “My mother is very Catholic and I am very well…” he gestures to his Black Sabbath t-shirt, lip ring, and sparkly earrings, and Gerard giggles, “not.” 

With an armful of supplies, Frank leads Gerard to the backyard. There’s a small patio set with three worn looking chairs and a metal table leaning very dangerously to the left, along with a rusty fire-pit that clearly hasn’t been used for years. There’s an overgrown patch at the back at the fence-line, where weeds and wildflowers have started to wrap around old wire fencing, warping and dragging it out of the dirt.

Frank plugs in the string of fairy lights wrapped around the beams of the porch as Gerard watches a pair of crows splash around in a moss covered, stone birdbath. “My dad was the outdoorsy one. He spent more time in the yard than he ever did inside. He was going to build this big, gorgeous patio before he died. Now this place is just kind of… sad.”

Gerard shifts awkwardly on his feet, unable to stop himself from fidgeting. “But it’s about to get a lot more interesting,” Frank says with a grin as he holds up a small black Bible. “My grandparents gave this to me shortly after I came out to my family. I guess they thought Jesus was the only man I really needed in my life.”

Gerard snorts and sits down in one of the chairs. “So… we’re going to burn it!” Frank finishes gleefully as he starts to set up the fire pit. 

He makes fast work of building the fire with twigs and scraps of old newspapers. Gerard watches him work, hair falling in his face, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. Frank shouts triumphantly when he manages to get it burning steadily and plops down next to Gerard. 

“Would you like to do the honors, my dear?” Frank rips out a few pages of the book, crumples them up and hands them to Gerard with a flourish. 

Gerard grins and takes the ball from his hands, placing it gingerly into the fire pit. They both watch as the first few verses of Genesis go up in flames. Frank sits down in the chair next to Gerard and tosses his own handful into the fire and watches it crumble to ash, smoke curling and drifting up into the clouds.

Frank starts to roast a marshmallow while Gerard is transfixed by the flames. “Are you… are making s’mores?” he asks incredulously.

Frank grins as he pops a piece of chocolate into his mouth. “Fuck yeah! You want one?” Gerard nods sheepishly. Frank pulls his stick out of the fire and scoops the marshmallow on the graham cracker in his lap, handing it to him with a flourish.

Gerard eats it delicately, trying to avoid smearing marshmallow all over his face and looking like a total dork. He watches Frank in silence for a while, as the light from the flames dances over his skin, in his eyes. He’s so beautiful it makes Gerard’s stomach ache. Jenna’s advice echoes in his mind, annoyingly sound. It’s obvious that he needs to just tell Frank how he feels, but there’s not really a way to convey, “I think you’re gorgeous and I’m constantly distracted by how much I want to make out with you,” without sounding creepy.

Just saying “I like you,” was far too direct. Maybe it would be easier to just say it in an email… Gerard internally kicked himself as soon as he thought it. Email? Seriously?! What year is it, 2006? 

For a while, they just pass the book back and forth, and toss pages into the fire like they’re passing around a bottle of alcohol. When they run out of paper, Frank tosses the rest of the book into the fire and sits back in his chair satisfied. Gerard feels a droplet of water hit his face, but ignores it in favor of staring longing at Frank.

After a few more minutes of silence, he says, “You know, I was raised Catholic. Obviously my mom was always super religious and my dad had never really believed in any particular religion. So a lot of my early memories involve the church somehow. Every Sunday she always dragged me out of bed and into a stupid suit. Every Christmas and Easter was spent at Mass, we prayed before every meal, and I was forced to go to confession every time I did something Mom thought was sinful. My whole life, everyone was always going on about how God’s love is so great and so powerful but all it ever taught me was shame, you know?”

“I um- I know exactly what you mean,” Gerard says softly as he watches Frank’s sad, dark eyes reflecting the flames, making them look older, depthless. “Most religions, especially Christianity are based around the illusion of freedom, but really condemn any sort of free-thinking whatsoever. It’s dangerous.” 

“Exactly! Most people call me an asshole when I have the audacity to say that maybe blindly following a book written by a bunch of old, dead guys that has been translated and reinterpreted thousands of times in thousands of different languages, maybe isn’t the best way to live your life.” Frank says, waving his hands emphatically.

“I think that some people don’t want to think. They just want to be told what to do and why to do it because it’s easier than developing their own sense of right and wrong. It’s easier to not question things and hate what you don’t understand.” Gerard gazes at the bonfire as he speaks, watching the smoke curl up into the gray sky, embers flying and dissipating within seconds in the cold evening air. He doesn’t notice that Frank is staring at him.

“Yes! It’s so refreshing to talk to someone who actually gets it.” 

After a few moments of silence, Gerard decides to change the subject. “So, your Mom, is she… How does she feel about you um-“ Gerard stops, unsure if he’s being insensitive.

“Being gay as fuck?” Frank finishes with a smirk. Gerard nods. “Oh she’s in hardcore denial. There had been small hints throughout my childhood. Deep down I think I always knew, but whenever I would make a breakthrough and be close to accepting who I was, my mother would shove some more Catholic guilt down my throat and convince me that it was just another sin I needed to repent for. But she lost it when she caught me making out with my ex a few years ago. She tried to take me to confession but I refused. Told her I wasn’t going to be forced to hate myself anyone.

“We had a huge fight and I didn’t speak to her for a week. She kind of shut down after that and started to treat me like this rebellious delinquent that was going against her and God’s wishes. She grounded me for months, took away my phone, refused to let me see my boyfriend anymore. I was absolutely miserable. And it hurt more because I’d never really acted out before. I was always a good kid who got good grades and never skipped class or missed any days off of school.” 

“Seriously?” Gerard asks incredulously. Frank just laughs.

“I know, it’s hard to believe, right? After that I kind of just… snapped. I tried to talk to her and get her to see that this wasn’t something I was choosing- I couldn’t help that whenever I saw a cute boy I got butterflies in my stomach. And all’s I wanted was to hold their soft hands and kiss their lips while playing with their hair. I didn’t see what was so bad about something so wonderful and so pure. So I started acting out. I started drinking and smoking. I pierced my lips and nose with a safety pin. I dyed my hair black and I listened to my music way too loud. If she was going to treat me like a no good rebel, then that’s what I was going to be.” 

“But you are good,” Gerard says gently. “All that outside stuff is just armor.”

“Shh! Don’t tell anyone, okay? You’re the only one that’s found me out, Gerard Way.” They both share a smile that makes Gerard feel all combust-y again. “In all seriousness, you’re right. I wear black because I like it, yeah, but it also keeps people from fucking with me. It’s easier to be soft when the world thinks you’re a hardass, you know?” 

“Yeah, I do. I think we all have our own. Yours in oversized band shirts and spiky bracelets and mine is… lip gloss and fuzzy sweaters, as lame as that is,” Gerard says with a smile and roll of his eyes.

“But that’s not lame! That’s what I like about you, Gerard. You don’t hide anything about yourself. You’re so authentic in everything you like and do. You wear who you are like armor and I think that’s so fucking cool and brave.” 

“I’m not cool,” he says shyly, unable to stop himself from grinning. “Never have been, never will be.” 

“You are, too,” Frank asserts gently, leaning closer to Gerard in his chair. “You don’t care about what anyone thinks and you just- you just show exactly who you are right away. Most people bury that shit deep down, but with you, it’s all out in the open.

Gerard feels his cheeks reddening when the realization suddenly hits him. This is his chance to finally say it. “That’s not true,” he mumbles to his lap. “I-I care what you think.”

“Me?! Why me?!” 

“Because you- you’re actually a badass! You don’t take crap from anyone, you’re not afraid to say what you’re thinking, and you’re just- so strong and I’m just so not. And I-“ Gerard worries at his lip, the words fighting their way through his chest and out his mouth. “I really really like you.”

Frank doesn’t have to reply because his mouth meeting Gerard’s is answer enough. Frank’s lips, though chapped, are so incredibly warm and gentle. Gerard sits still, far too still, limbs solid and frozen in place, out of the fear that if he moves, he’ll suddenly wake up. Because Frank feels like a dream as one hand moves up to cup Gerard’s cheek. It’s a small reassurance of how right this is, how right it feels and the doubt and fear suddenly dissipate. 

Kissing Frank for the first time feels like learning how to slow dance. They trip and stumble over each other, searching for balance, rhythm, control. In those first few seconds, Gerard is at a loss, so tangled up in the movements, stuck in his head and lamenting his lack of experience.

But when Frank touches his face, he feels like he’s really being pulled in, falling into step with Frank rather than stomping on his toes. They sway and move as one, suspended in the moment. It’s the kind of kiss that doesn’t ask for anything more, sweet and simple. Yet Gerard feels the promise of another in Frank’s reluctance to pull away, a small smile tugging at the corners of the mouth he just kissed.

“You’re blushing,” Frank says as he brushes the pad of his thumb across Gerard’s cheek. 

“A-am not,” he manages weakly.

“You’re a real bad liar, Gerard Way,” Frank says smugly, then kisses away his frown. The reality of the situation hits him, halfway through the second kiss, as he regains control over his body and his fingers curl in Frank’s hair. He’s kissing Frank Iero. Frank Iero is kissing him. He’s having his first gay kiss in the glow of a burning Bible and it’s both bizarre and perfect. The fact that it’s so good is a harsh reminder that Frank has done this many times before and Gerard hasn’t. He wonders how many boys he’s kissed like this and his stomach coils up tightly as he pulls away.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Frank's eyes are as soft as his lips, and Gerard melts more and more  
into the rusted metal chair, his heart lost somewhere between his throat and his ribcage. “Do you… want to stop?”

Gerard’s teeth tear at the inside of his mouth, the faint taste of iron pooling on his tongue. “No, I-I um- I… I just- have never really done this before. And I feel like- like I’m- bad at it“ 

“You’ve never kissed anyone before? I couldn’t even tell. I really liked kissing you and I um…” he laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “want to do it over and over again.” Gerard is dumbstruck, only able to sit there, mouth gaping. “If it wasn’t obvious, I really fucking like you, Gerard.”

He wants to ask press, to ask why, to demand to see where the hidden cameras are. But he doesn’t. Instead, he grabs a fistful of Frank’s shirt and pulls him into another kiss. They makeout on the rusty lawn chairs until it starts to rain, and then run into the house, giggling. Gerard doesn’t realise that Frank is holding his hand until they’re standing in the living room beneath the wall of crucifixes. He looks up at the ominous wall of crosses with what must be a worried expression because Frank laughs. They’re both smiling as they crash into each other’s lips, and for a moment they just stand there, hands intertwined, smiling and out of breath. 

A loud crack of thunder finally breaks them apart as Gerard jumps, eyes wide. “What, you afraid that we made God angry?” Frank asks teasingly.

Gerard quiets his laughter by kissing him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this scene is actually inspired by a story my friends, a married couple, told me about the first time they ever really hung out together when they were teenagers. Because nothing says young, queer love like burning a Bible, right? 
> 
> (Also, let it be stated that I don’t believe in the burning of religious texts. Or sending people hate for being religious unless they are using those religious beliefs as an excuse to be intolerant and hateful. Many queer people have a very complicated relationship with religion, Christianity is particular and that’s what I’m trying to convey here.)
> 
> Anyways, I love y’all! Hope you like this chapter! <3


End file.
